Devices for the packing and safe transport of flat articles of flexible material

ABSTRACT

A slitted cassette for storing a flexible sheet on a spool rotatably mounted in the cassette. Two protective sheets are secured at one end to the spool and have a handle at the opposite end thereof, and a stop prevents the handle from passing through the cassette slit and makes the handle graspable when the protective sheets are withdrawn into the cassette around the spool. For storage, the flexible sheet is placed between the protective sheets projecting outwardly through the slit and supported on a flat surface, and the protected flexible sheet is then wound up on the spool and thus stored in the cassette while it may be withdrawn therefrom by grasping the handle.

United States Patent DEVICES FOR THE PACKING AND SAFE TRANSPORT OF FLAT ARTICLES OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

1.1.8. Cl 242/67.l R, 242/71.l, 242/107 R, 242/197 Int. Cl. B65h 17/02, B6511 75/48 Field of Search 242/673, 107, 674,197, 67.5, 67.1, 55, 71.1

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,845,550 2/1932 Metze 242/674 Primary Examiner-George F, Mautz Anarney- Kurt Kelman ABSTRACT: A slitted cassette for storing a flexible sheet on a spool rotatably mounted in the cassette. Two protective sheets are secured at one end to the spool and have a handle at the opposite end thereof, and a stop prevents the handle from passing through the cassette slit and makes the handle graspable when the protective sheets are withdrawn into the cassette around the spool. For storage, the flexible sheet is placed between the protective sheets projecting outwardly through the slit and supportedon a flat surface, and the protected flexible sheet is then wound up on the spool and thus stored in the cassette while it may be withdrawn therefrom by grasping the handle.

PATENTEflJuLzmn 3,595,496

INVliN'lUR HANS JAKOB NIDECKER DEVICES FOR THE PACKING AND SAFE TRANSPORT F FLAT ARTICLES OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL As is known, there are numerous flat, flexible articles (as for example films, bank documents, transparencies, etc.) which when not properly packed are easily damaged and become virtually unusable. However, with the packaging means at present available which are used in normal posting, pneumatic posting or even in personal conveyance by messenger, damage cannot be avoided. Thus for example bank documents are at the present day, as for the last 30 years, still rolled up in the conventional pneumatic post cassettes when being sent by pneumatic post. These rolled up documents clearly press tightly against the inner wall of the container on account of their inherent elasticity, and are for this reason difficult to remove without being damaged. The same is obviously true to a larger extent in the case of films, for example X-ray films, which are taken for example in the case of operations in hospitals, personally by a messenger after they have been exposed, to the place where they are to be developed, and have to be collected again. This process in which the films are put in rectangular, relatively heavy cassettes, is particularly unsatisfactory where the result of an X-ray must be available as soon as possible. In the case of operations it can for example be of decisive importance whether it is possible to develop an X-ray immediately and bring it to the operating table.

Attempts have therefore been made to accelerate the conveyance of X-ray films by means of pneumatic post. However, it was soon shown that films are very easily damaged and in particular become scratched when using the conventional box-shaped pneumatic post conveyor. The films have to be rolled up by hand before they are placed in the pneumatic post boxes; they are then placed in the box, where they lie against the inner wall on account of their resilience. It can easily be i seen that these films can be removed from the box only with difficulty, and in particular that damage by scratching cannot be avoided. The effects of such damage on the result of an X- ray investigation may be exceptionally unfortunate, as can easily be imagined. This is the chief reason why up to the present time pneumatic post has not been successfully used in conveying undeveloped X-ray film. Naturally, normal posting is even less adapted to such articles. Quite' apart from the insufficient stiffness of conventional envelopes there is in this case the added risk of tearing or cutting on opening.

According to the present invention, which seeks to obviate the said disadvantages, a device for the packing and safe transport of flat articles of flexible material is characterized by:

a practically cylindrical cassette which has a longitudinal slit running parallel to its longitudinal axis, the length of the slit corresponding to at least the width of the article to be packed,

a cylindrical spool rotatably mounted coaxially in this cassette and rotatable by means of a mechanism coupledtherewith,

at least two protective sheets, each secured at one end to the said spool, the dimensions of the sheets corresponding at least to those of the article to be packed, and also a flat working surface corresponding at least to the measurements of the article to be packed, the arrangement being such that the article to be conveyed can be prepared for transport by being placed between the two protective sheets when these latter project from the slit of the cassette and lie on the working surface, and the two protective sheets which enclose the article-wound up by means of the said mechanism and thus simultaneously drawn into the cassette, the surfaces of the article thereby being protected.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spool can be coupled with a drive means e.g., an electric motor, by a frictional drive. In this case the coupling is preferably effected via a cone attached to the shaft of the drive means, against which a face of the spool or a recess provided therein can be urged.

One edge of the working surface advantageously has a trough-shaped depression into which projects, from below, the actuating member of a switch in circuit with a drive means, the actuating member being of such a type that the switch can be actuated by simply placing the cassette in the said troughshaped depression. In this case the spool preferably projects out of the cassette on one side and has a friction wheel at the end which comes into frictional connection, when the cassette is placed in the trough-shaped depression, with a mating wheel disposed below said trough and which is coupled with the shaft of the drive device.

In addition, an elastic-restoring means can be arranged within the spool which is secured at one end to the body of the spool and at the other end to the body of the cassette, and which is tensioned when the protective sheets are withdrawn from the cassette and subsequently automatically draws the protective sheets back into the cassette.

One embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a simplified perspective view of a device with an electric motor drive for packing undeveloped X-ray films,

FIG. 2 is a detail of the device shown in FIG. 1,

FIGS. 3 to 6 show different embodiments of the cassette or the spool arranged therewithin, and

FIG. 7 shows a commercially used pneumatic conveyor with an X-ray film cassette inserted therein.

FIG. 1 shows a working table, generally designated 1, which can be made for example, out of metal or wood, and which has a flat working surface 2. The working surface 2 is substantially rectangular and its dimensions are preferably chosen to be somewhat larger than those of the X-ray film to be transported. A trough-shaped depression abuts one edge of the working surface 2 on the side facing the observer, the depression being bound on the front side by a curved wall 3. A cassette 4 is located in this trough-shaped depression, and is further described with the aid of FIGS. 2 and 3.

The cassette 4 (FIG. 3) has a cylindrical casing 5 which is provided with a longitudinal slit 6 (FIGS. I and 4) extending over the whole length of the cassette wall. A cylindrical spool 7 is rotatably mounted on support rings 8 within the cassette 4, excessive and undesired axial displacement of the spool being prevented by circlips 9.

As FIG. 3 in particular shows, the spool 7 has a recess in its left end, into which projects a cone 12 which is coupled with a shaft 10 of an electric motor 11. It can be easily seen that so long as the spool 7 is urged to the left in the direction of the arrow 13, it engages frictionally with the cone l2 and is rotated thereby.

Two support sheets 14 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of nontransparentflexible material are secured at one end to the spool 7, while the two free ends of the sheets project from the slit 6 of the cassette 4, If one grasps the support sheets 14 with two fingers by the tongue 15 shown in FIG. 1 and pulls them out of the cassette, the two sheets lie above one another on the flat working surface 2. If on the other hand the spool 7 is brought into driving connection, via the cone 12, with the electric motor rotating in the sense of the arrow 16, the support sheets 14 are wound up' and thus drawn into the interior of the cassette 4 again.

This device which serves for the packing of undeveloped X- ray film is advantageously employed as follows. The support sheets 14 are first of all withdrawn by hand from the position shown in FIG. 1 so far to the right that they fully lie on the flat working surface 2. The undeveloped X-ray film 17 (FIG. 2) is then laid between the two sheets, whereupon the spool 7 is coupled with the electric motor by displacement in the sense of the arrow 13. In this way the two support sheets 14 and the X -ray film 17 are wound into the interior of the cassette, the film surfaces thereby being protected to the fullest possible extent, and the film is protected against the effects of light rays and can be sent directly by pneumatic post to where it is to be developed. For this purpose the cassette can be placed in a commercially available pneumatic post conveyor 18 shown in FIG. 7.

it is to be understood that the aforedescribed insertion of the X-ray film 17 in the cassette 4 must be carried out in a dark room.

The withdrawal of the film from the cassette 4 is extremely simple. The cassette is again placed in the trough-shaped depression of a similar working table 1, whereupon the two support sheets 14 and the X-ray film 17 can be directly withdrawn from the slit 6.

1n the variant shown diagrammatically in FIG. 5, an actuating member (e.g pushbutton) 18 of a switch 19 arranged in circuit with the drive means, for example the electric motor 11, projects from below into the trough-shaped depression serving as the container for the cassette 4. On placing the cassette 4 in the trough-shaped depression, the pushbutton 18 is thus urged downwardly by the wall of the cassette and the switch is actuated and the drive means thereby engaged. Furthermore, in this arrangement the spool 7 projects out from the cassette 4 one side and has a friction wheel 20 located on its projecting end. This friction wheel comes into contact with a mating wheel 21 arranged below the troughshaped depression when the cassette 4 is placed in the depression, the mating wheel being rigidly attached to the shaft of a drive device.The frictional contact between the wheels 20 and 21 can be improved by pressure applied to one end of the cassette. in order to ensure frictional contact between the friction wheels 20 and 21 in all circumstances, it would clearly also be possible to make the lower part of the trough-shaped depression (designated 22 in FIG. out ofan elastic material. This material could thus yield under the pressure of the cassette 4, so that the frictional pressure between the two wheels and 21 could also be arbitrarily varied.

A further, simplified variant of the cassette 4 is shown in FIG. 6. The spool 7, which is formed as a hollow cylinder, engages, at its right-hand end (as shown in the Figure) a spigot 23 projecting inwardly from an end of the cassette, while the left-hand end of the spool 7 is supported by means of a ring bearing 24. A coil spring 25 is arrange in the interior of the spool 7, the right-hand end of the spring being secured to the spigot 23 and the left-hand end of the spring 25 being rigidly connected, via an insert 26, to the cylindrical wall of the spool 7. if the spool 7 is rotated relative to the cassette by pulling out the support sheets 14 secured thereto, the spring 25 is auto-' matically tensioned. As soon as the support sheets 14 are released, they are once again wound up on the spool on account of the restoring force exerted by the spring 25, and are thus pulled back into the interior of the cassette 4. in this embodiment just described, it is convenient to provide the tongue 15 .(FIG. 1) on the leading edge of the support sheets 14 with" an aperture so that the tongue can engage with a hook 27 located at the opposite end of the working surface 2. It would also be clearly possible to provide another securing device, for example an adhesive means, in place of the hook 27.

in all the variants described, the tongue 15 of the upper support sheet 14 conveniently has a lug-shaped elevation which strikes the upper boundary edge of the slit 6 when drawing in the support sheets, with the result that a portion of the tongue 15 always projects from the slit 6 and can be grasped.

The device described is clearly suitable not only for packing and pneumatic conveyance of undeveloped X-ray films, but also quite generally for packing flat articles and for the creaseproof" and safe transport of larger articles of flexible material.

It is thus possible with this device to pack any flexible sheetlike article, particularly easily creasable documents such as securities, sensitive transparent paper, original oil paintings on paper or canvas or designs, in the safest possible way, and to recover the package undamaged at its destination.

What I claim is: 1

1. A device for the packing and safe transport of flat articles of flexible material comprising a portable and elongated cassette having a longitudinal slit running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cassette, the length of the slit corresponding to at least the width of the article to be packed,

a substantially cylindrical spool rotatably mounted coaxially to said longitudinal axis in this cassette androtatable by means of a mechanism coupled therewith,

at least two protective sheets each secured at one end to the spool, the dimensions of the sheets corresponding at least to those of the articles to be packed, said sheets including handle means at an end opposite from said one end, and a stop means for preventing said handle means from passing through said slit and for making said handle means graspable when said sheets are withdrawn into said cassette around said rotatable spool,

and a flat working surface corresponding at least to the dimensions of the articles to be packed, the arrangement being such that the articles to be conveyed can be prepared for transport by being placed between the two protective sheets when these latter project from the slit of the cassette and lie on the working surface, and the pro tective sheets which enclose the article wound up by means of the mechanism and thus simultaneously drawn into the cassette, the surfaces of the article thereby being protected, said sheets being withdrawable in part from said cassette by grasping said handle means.

- 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the spool can be coupled frictionally with a drive means, and wherein said cassette is substantially cylindrical.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the coupling is effected by a cone secured to the shaft of the drive means, against which cone may be urged a face of the spool or a recess provided therein.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein a trough-shaped depression abuts one edge of the working surface, and into which the actuating member of a switch in circuit with a drive means for the mechanism projects from below, the actuating member being of such a type that the switch is actuated by simply placing the cassette in the trough-shaped depression.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein one side of the spool projects'from the cassette and carries a friction wheel on the projecting end thereof, which end comes into frictional contact with a mating wheel coupled to the shaft of the drive means and arranged below the trough-shaped depression, when the cassette is placed in said depression.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein an elastic-restoring means is fixed within the spool, at one end to the body of the spool and at the other end to the body of the cassette, which is tensioned when the protective sheets are withdrawn from the cassette and subsequently serves to draw the protective sheets back into the cassette.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the said elastic restoring means comprises a coil spring.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein a trough-shaped depression abuts one edge of the working surface, and into which the actuating member of a switch in circuit with a drive means or the mechanism projects from below, the actuating member being of such a type that the switch is actuatable by placing the cassette in the trough-shaped depression. 

1. A device for the packing and safe transport of flat articles of flexible material, comprising a portable and elongated cassette having a longitudinal slit running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cassette, the length of the slit corresponding to at least the width of the article to be packed, a substantially cylindrical spool rotatably mounted coaxially to said longitudinal axis in this cassette and rotatable by means of a mechanism coupled therewith, at least two protective sheets each secured at one end to the spool, the dimensions of the sheets corresponding at least to those of the articles to be packed, said sheets including handle means at an end opposite from said one end, and a stop means for preventing said handle means from passing through said slit and for making said handle means graspable when said sheets are withdrawn into said cassette around said rotatable spool, and a flat working surface corresponding at least to the dimensions of the articles to be packed, the arrangement being such that the articles to be conveyed can be prepared for transport by being placed between the two protective sheets when these latter project from the slit of the cassette and lie on the working surface, and the protective sheets which enclose the article wound up by means of the mechanism and thus simultaneously drawn into the cassette, the surfaces of the article thereby being protected, said sheets being withdrawable in part from said cassette by grasping said handle means.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the spool can be coupled frictionally with a drive means, and wherein said cassette is substantially cylindrical.
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the coupling is effected by a cone secured to the shaft of the drive means, against which cone may be urged a face of the spool or a recess provided therein.
 4. A device according to claim 3, wherein a trough-shaped depression abuts one edge of the working surface, and into which the actuating member of a switch in circuit with a drive means for the mechanism projects from below, the actuating member being of such a type that the switch is actuated by simply placing the cassette in the trough-shaped depression.
 5. A device according to claim 4, wherein one side of the spool projects from the Cassette and carries a friction wheel on the projecting end thereof, which end comes into frictional contact with a mating wheel coupled to the shaft of the drive means and arranged below the trough-shaped depression, when the cassette is placed in said depression.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein an elastic-restoring means is fixed within the spool, at one end to the body of the spool and at the other end to the body of the cassette, which is tensioned when the protective sheets are withdrawn from the cassette and subsequently serves to draw the protective sheets back into the cassette.
 7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the said elastic restoring means comprises a coil spring.
 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein a trough-shaped depression abuts one edge of the working surface, and into which the actuating member of a switch in circuit with a drive means or the mechanism projects from below, the actuating member being of such a type that the switch is actuatable by placing the cassette in the trough-shaped depression. 